Seeming to notice her gaze, the man slightly turned his head. Under the sunlight, his dark eyes were deep, as if trying to draw her in.
Si Nian's heart skipped a beat. Was this man trying to announce to the entire village that they were getting married?
Logically speaking, a second marriage wasn’t something to flaunt—usually, it wouldn’t be celebrated extravagantly, let alone in a backward rural village in the 1980s, where wearing a red dress was often the extent of the ceremony.
She hadn’t thought much of it, assuming Zhou Yueshen was as indifferent as she was.
But it turned out this man had already made preparations.
Glancing at the children, she saw them circling the pig in excitement, their eyes wide with wonder.
A smile touched Si Nian’s lips. "Little Zhou Yuedong, little Zhou Yuehan, Lin Feng, Lin Yu, hurry up and bring Yaoyao in for dinner."
The children hesitated, reluctant to leave the lively scene—village pig slaughters were always a spectacle, and everyone passing by couldn’t resist stopping to watch.
But fearing Si Nian might be displeased, they reluctantly trudged inside.
Their reluctance vanished instantly when they saw the steaming bowls of scallion oil noodles on the dining table.
The noodles were light, topped with a few leafy greens, glistening droplets of oil floating on the broth, and sprinkled with chopped scallions. The aroma of scallions and lard rushed into their noses, making the little ones swallow hard.
Si Nian brought out a few fried eggs from the kitchen.
The eggs were perfectly round and golden, immediately capturing the children’s attention.
She set the bowls down and went back to fetch a smaller bowl for Yaoyao.
Little Zhou Yuehan immediately stood up, picking the largest fried egg from his bowl and placing it into hers.
"Mom, you eat it."
Si Nian’s heart melted. "Mom doesn’t want it, Yuehan. You eat it."
Zhou Yuehan grinned, showing off his tiny white teeth. "I get to eat eggs every day. This one’s for you today."
Si Nian chuckled helplessly, taking a small bite. "It’s delicious."
Zhou Yuehan beamed with joy.
Noticing the other children staring wide-eyed at their bowls—none daring to touch their eggs except Zhou Yuehan—Si Nian stood up and divided the eggs among them.
Lin Feng and Lin Yu froze, looking up at her in surprise. They actually got a share of the eggs too.
They stared at the golden fried eggs in their bowls, then cautiously glanced at Si Nian. Back when Lin Sisi was doing well in school, people would gift her eggs, but she never shared—she ate them all herself.
Yet this older sister, whom they’d only just met, had already given them refreshing mung bean soup and now eggs.
Their family was poor, like most in the village, where eggs were usually saved for selling, not eating.
To them, eggs were a luxury.
But their newfound sister had given them some.
Zhou Yuehan, who hadn’t gotten an extra egg, was still the happiest of them all.
Si Nian thought the boy was adorably naive and went back to fry him a heart-shaped egg.
Zhou Yuehan’s mouth fell open in an "O."
He’d never seen an egg cooked like that before. Mom was amazing!
The other children’s eyes lit up with envy as they stared at Zhou Yuehan’s special egg.
Si Nian, ever fair, reassured them, "Next time, I’ll make heart-shaped eggs for all of you. Now eat up."
Lin Yu couldn’t tear his gaze away from Zhou Yuehan’s bowl and asked timidly, "Will me and my brother get one too?"
Si Nian studied the two nervous boys. Though they had parents who loved them—unlike Zhou Yuedong and Zhou Yuehan—their meals weren’t much better.
A single egg had them this thrilled.
She nodded. "Of course. You can come over anytime. There’ll be eggs for you every day."
Lin Yu’s eyes sparkled. "If you give us eggs, we’ll bring you wild berries!"
"Yeah! We’ll bring you all the good stuff we find!"
Zhou Yuehan piped up, not to be outdone, "Mom, I’ll bring you berries too! And I’ll be good and never fight again!"
"And when I grow up, I’ll earn money for you!"
Si Nian laughed. These little rascals already knew how to make big promises.
"Alright, I’ll hold you to that. Now hurry up and eat. There’s work to do later."
The children remembered they still had to watch the adults butcher the pig and quickly dug into their noodles.
Yaoyao, too young to understand her brothers’ chatter, still caught their excitement. Her bright eyes twinkled as she opened her mouth like a hungry baby bird. "Mama, ah~"
Si Nian’s heart melted. She quickly fed her a bite of noodles.
After feeding the children, Si Nian returned to the kitchen. With so many mouths to feed, she hadn’t prepared enough hand-pulled noodles, so she used store-bought ones instead, making a simple soup with pickled vegetables, shredded pork, and potatoes.
The broth was spiced with chili and minced pork, while the sour pickles cut through the richness—a staple in rural households for noodle soups.
With Si Nian’s generous seasoning, the flavor was even better.
She ladled out the soup, cleaned the pot, and refilled it with water to boil before stepping outside again.
By now, the men had started gutting the pig. A fire crackled nearby, and the children crouched around it. Yu Dong, noticing their eager eyes, sliced a few pieces of pork belly and handed them over.
The kids immediately found wooden skewers, threaded the meat, and roasted it over the flames. Soon, the fat sizzled, releasing an irresistible aroma.
A sprinkle of salt was all it needed to taste heavenly.
Si Nian remembered her own childhood, when pig slaughters during holidays meant skewering lean meat and roasting it like they’d seen on TV.
Zhou Yueshen was splitting the pig in half with steady, powerful strokes, his expression unchanging.
Si Nian watched quietly until he finished. "I made soup and noodles for everyone. You should eat something first."
Zhou Yueshen glanced at her and nodded, then told the others to help themselves inside.
They were all familiar faces, often staying at the Zhou household, so they knew their way around.
Zhou Yueshen didn’t move.
Si Nian studied the halved pig. "Are we keeping all of this at home?"
If so, they’d need to chop wood to smoke the meat into bacon—otherwise, it wouldn’t last long in this weather.
In the countryside, smoking pork into bacon was the way to preserve it year-round.
Bacon was delicious, especially stir-fried with garlic chives, scallions, and soy sauce, paired with sour soup. Si Nian could easily eat two bowls of rice with it.
Zhou Yueshen looked down at her, his voice low. "Half stays here for the wedding feast. The other half goes to your family."
